LITMIR.BIZ

      Dramatic Personal:

      Monsieur Jordan – 40 years old Botanist-Doctor from Paris – France

      Hatamkhan agha – a bey from Takla-Mughanli oba*. He is Karabakhian, 65 years old

      Shahrabanu khanum – Hatamkhan agha’s wife. She is 45

      Sharafnisa khanum – Hatamkhan agha’s elder daughter. She is 16

      Gulchohra – Hatamkhan agha’s younger daughter. She is 9

      Shahbaz  bey – Hatamkhan  agha’s nephew

      Khanperi – Sharafnisa khanum’s nurse. She is 40

      Dervish Mastali Shah – famous sorcerer from Iran. He is 50

      Gulamali – Mastali Shah’s  apprentice. He is 30

      Act 1

      The first act takes place in early spring, a day after Novruz bayrami 1263* in Takla-Mughanli, Karabakh district. Sharafnisa khanum brushes wool in the second room crying in a low voice. Her younger sister Gulchohra is playing nearby.

      Gulchohra: Aghabaci*, why are you crying?

      Sharafnisa khanum: (she takes by her hand and pushes it away) Get out and go to hell!

      Gulchohra: (she stretches her hand towards Sharafnisa) Aghabaci, for the sake of  God, say, why are you crying?

      Sharafnisa khanum: (pushing away her hand again) Get away to hell, I say! Let me do my work.

      Gulchohra: (with the same manner) You don’t do work, but you are only crying. Tell me please, why are you crying? If you don’t tell, I’ll go and call my mother. Tell me why are you crying? (she tugs by her headscarf)

      Sharafnisa khanum: (she pushes her angrily) Go to hell! You impudent! She won‘t leave me in peace! She won’t let me do my work!

      Gulchohra  falls down, then gets up crying goes to the room where her mother is.

      Sharafnisa khanum (alone): Oh, you impudent, she’ll go and complain of me to our mother. Oh my God, if she comes and asks me why I am crying, what shall I say? Oh, I’ll never say for what I’m crying. It’s better I’ll deny it. I’ll say I was not crying.

      She rubs her eyes with her headscarf quickly; at this moment the door opens, Shahrabanu khanum enters.

      Shahrabanu khanum: You, girl, why did you push and pull down Gulchohra?

      Sharafnisa khanum: May she perish, she doesn’t leave me in peace. Since the morning she did not let me brush two handful of wool. She always plays a trick on me. She either drags the wool from my hand or pulls my headscarf; at the end, I had enough of it and I pushed her away slightly and she came up to you crying.